The effects of acute leucine or leucine–glutamine co-ingestion on recovery from eccentrically biased exercise

This study investigated the effects of leucine or leucine + glutamine supplementation on recovery from eccentric exercise. In a double-blind independent groups design, 23 men were randomly assigned to a leucine (0.087 g/kg; n = 8), leucine + glutamine (0.087 g/kg + glutamine 0.3 g/kg; n = 8) or placebo (0.3 g/kg maltodextrin; n = 7) group. Participants performed 5 sets of drop jumps, with each set comprising 20 repetitions. Isometric knee-extensor strength, counter-movement jump (CMJ) height, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and creatine kinase (CK) were measured at baseline, 1, 24, 48 h and 72 h post-exercise. There was a time × group interaction for isometric strength, CMJ and CK (P < 0.05), with differences between the leucine + glutamine and placebo group at 48 h and 72 h for strength (P = 0.013; d = 1.43 and P < 0.001; d = 2.06), CMJ (P = 0.008; d = 0.87 and P = 0.019; d = 1.17) and CK at 24 h (P = 0.012; d = 0.54) and 48 h (P = 0.010; d = 1.37). The leucine group produced higher strength at 72 h compared to placebo (P = 0.007; d = 1.65) and lower CK at 24 h (P = 0.039; d = 0.63) and 48 h (P = 0.022; d = 1.03). Oral leucine or leucine + glutamine increased the rate of recovery compared to placebo after eccentric exercise. These findings highlight potential benefits of co-ingesting these amino acids to ameliorate recovery

Prevalence and factors associated with stunting and thinness among adolescent students in Northern Ethiopia: a comparison to World Health Organization standards

BACKGROUND Adolescence is last chance for curbing the consequences of malnutrition and breaking the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition and poor health. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and the factors associated with stunting and thinness among in-school adolescents in northern Ethiopia using the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) standards. METHODS In-school adolescents (n  = 348, 10–19 years old) were randomly selected to participate in this cross-sectional study. Anthropometric measurements were carried out to determine the proportion of adolescents who were stunted (height-for-age < −2 Standard Deviation (SD)) and thin (body-mass-index-for-age < −2 SD). T-test was employed to evaluate mean weight and height differences between groups. Pearson chi-square, chi-square trend and Fisher’s exact tests were used to explore the crude association of categorical outcome variables and associated factors. Crude and adjusted associations between the outcome variables (stunting and thinness) and independent variables (socio-demographic, eating behavior and sanitation) were also determined using logistic regression. Stata version 11.1 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS The height of the adolescents was 147.6 ± 11.2 cm (mean ± SD) and weight was37.2 ± 9.5 kg. The mean Z-scores of height-for-age and body-mass-index (BMI)-for-age of adolescents were −1.49 and −1.29, respectively. The prevalence of stunting and thinness among adolescents was 28.5 % (boys = 37.7 %; girls = 21.2 %; P = 0.001) and 26.1 % (boys = 32.4; girls = 21.6 %; p  = 0.017), respectively. Adolescents in 13–15 year old age group (Adjusted Odds ratio (AOR) = 2.23; 95 % CI: 1.22, 4.08), boys (AOR = 2.53; 95 % CI: 1.52, 4.21) and rural residents (AOR = 2.15; 95 % CI: 1.20, 3.86) had significantly higher odds of being stunted compared to their counterparts. Furthermore, boys had higher (AOR = 1.97; 95 % CI: 1.19, 3.25) odds of being thin compared to girls. Compared to those 10 to 12 years of age, adolescents in 16 to 19 years of age were 53 % (AOR = 0.47; 95 % CI: 0.23, 0.95) less likely to be thin. CONCLUSIONS Undernutrition is widely prevalent among adolescents in northern Ethiopia. Sex, age and area of residence significantly associated with adolescent undernutrition. The study underlines the need for nutrition interventions targeting rural and boy adolescents.Yohannes Adama Melaku, Gordon Alexander Zello, Tiffany K. Gill, Robert J. Adams and Zumin Sh